Gold bars are displayed for the media inside a Bank of Taiwan branch in Taipei yesterday. Gold rallied above US$1,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday, extending this week's record run as investors hedged growing inflation risks and bought into a broad commodities rally as the dollar slumped.

Gold prices hit record highs for a fifth session yesterday and silver rallied to its strongest since 1980 as the dollar slid to a three-year low against a basket of major currencies and oil prices rallied.

The action in the oil and currency markets is adding fuel to a rally sparked by concerns over the United States economic outlook, rising inflation, worries over eurozone debt and historically low interest rates in the US, analysts said.

"On the basis of everything that is going wrong - a possible downgrade in the United States, the situation in Libya not getting any better, the general feeling about the global economic situation - I think gold is going to go higher," said London-based ANZ Bank analyst Peter Hillyard.

"Gold isn't finished yet by a long shot."

Spot gold was bid at US$1,507.19 an ounce at 0853 GMT, against US$1,498.15 late in New York on Wednesday, having earlier peaked at US$1,508.50 an ounce. US gold futures for June delivery rose US$9.40 an ounce to US$1,508.30.

Silver was bid at US$45.92 an ounce against US$45.20.

Gold prices have climbed 5.4 percent so far this month and are on track for a sixth consecutive week of increases, reflecting strength throughout the commodity markets.

The Reuters-Jeffries CRB index, a global benchmark for commodities, posted its biggest one-day rise in a fortnight on Wednesday.

Many have been helped by losses in the dollar, which slid to its lowest since early 2008 against a basket of major currencies yesterday.

Brent crude rose above US$124 a barrel as US crude stocks fell unexpectedly last week and the dollar weakened.

Investors have rushed into risky assets due to strong US corporate earnings and signs the global economy is chugging along even as the Federal Reserve stays very cautious about when it will start to unwind its super-loose policy.